A Dorset-wide business mentoring service is expanding across the county to support small businesses which are growing or going through change.
Dormen has more than 80 experienced business people who give their time freely to mentor local businesses.
Due to the recession, there has been a sharp rise in people in Dorset who now run their own firms.
And Dormen – a name that comes from the words Dorset and Mentoring – has pulled together a group of individuals with a wide range of skills and talents who are keen to help.
It’s now calling on businesses of any type, whether long-established or in the early years of trading, to consider whether someone impartial to talk to and bring a fresh perspective could help them.
Dormen was set up in 2005 as a real attempt by Dorset Local Authorities to capture the wisdom, and the time, of experienced business people who are able and keen to support other local small businesses.
As well as support from the local authorities, recent funding from ‘Chalk and Cheese’ and ‘Sowing Seeds’ is specifically targeting help at businesses in the rural west, north and east of the county.
Vivian Dunn from Dormen said: “We have these incredible resources in the form of highly experienced business people. We want more people to be aware we are here and are keen to help.
“The service is confidential and we use our experience to partner businesses with mentors who we think will suit them.
“All mentors are volunteers who give their time for free. There is a one-off administration fee of £100 but thanks to ‘Chalk and Cheese’ and ‘Sowing Seeds’ funding, the fee can be waived for eligible businesses who sign up by September 2013.”
Rod Cooke has been mentoring Luke Stuart at the White Pepper Cookery School in Lytchett Matravers for nearly a year.
For 40 years Rod worked for HSBC and became Head of Credit and Risk for London and the South of England.
He now runs his own business consultancy, and was keen to help smaller companies.
He became a mentor for Dormen and among his charges is Luke Stuart.
Rod said: “What I wanted to do was help out with small, newer businesses and I have mentored several.
“And what you find is that often they don’t know what they don’t know.
“Typically I meet about once a month with Luke and just try and make sure he is putting the right building blocks in place.
“This means making sure he is aware of the legal things involved in running a business, and getting the budget right.
“My job is not to tell him what to do or even advise him, but to guide him in the right direction.
“It is to enable him to run a good business as well as be a good chef.
“I’ve been involved in business all my life and I have seen all the problems before and am able to guide people around them.
“While we meet up once a month or so, Luke knows he can phone me if something crops up.
“Luke has lots of passion for cooking and is a great teacher and he is now in Year 3 of the business.
“Most new businesses fail in their first three years. Various organisations exist to help a business set up but after that they are mostly left on their own. That’s where mentoring comes in. If I can help businesses get through the early years of trading then the future looks a lot brighter.”
Luke Stuart, 34, has recommended Dormen’s service to several other businesses and is now running a thriving cookery school.
He said: “Basically it is a sounding-board and is incredibly helpful for small businesses.
“Running a business can be quite lonely and an isolating experience because you are literally doing everything by yourself.
“So to have a mentor is incredibly useful and helpful. With a chef and teaching background I decided to start the cookery school and it was my accountant who recommended Dormen.
“It is all right having ideas, but your financial structure needs to be sound and Rod’s background in finance really helped me with this.
“We meet about once a month and I bring up particular issues to focus on – you’ve got to know what you want to ask.
“And you have to be quite an open minded person and at the right stage of a business to really benefit.
“The early years are an obvious time but later on when perhaps you are going through changes or want to do something new, a mentor would be invaluable.
“We now are very busy running nearly 40 courses for adults and children and also running corporate team-building events.”